Give it Time
by Oyashiro-Sama'sDemon
Summary: As her team and her trainer camp out in the forest for the night, a Crobat can no longer hold her pain and the feeling of betrayal in anymore. Rated T to be safe, slight language.


**Author's Note**: Hey, alright! Two stories in a row! I actually had this one just lazing around in my computer, forgotten. So, since I was getting back into fanfiction, I worked on it and edited it. This one is based on my Platinum game. But, no, the trainer's name is not my real name. I merely chose it, after a friend. My brother and I both had Platinum, and at the time, he couldn't beat Fantina, so I agreed to help. I traded my Crobat to him, and he beat her easily. Only, when I got my Crobat back, her love for me was gone... So, that's why I wrote this, almost as if it was an apology. Anyway, enjoy! Oh, and review, 'cause I live off them! Every writer needs them!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

She hung from a tree, upside-down by using her second pair of wings. She frowned as most of her kind did, showing her teeth as she eyed the girl warily. Her eyes were an eerie gold, and her bat-like body was a dark purple. The insides of her wings were a mix of dark green and blue. Her ears were to a point, and even without the frown, she was clearly displeased.

The trainer smiled at the Crobat before drifting off. It was only around nine o'clock, the air humid as spring started approaching. Most Crobats, by then, would be in the air, secure in the pitch black of night, looking for prey. While they lose their pointed fangs, their need for the hunt was alive. Of course, that being said, Crobats were rarely, if ever, seen in the wild. They evolved by trust in a partner.

But in this situation, there was no longer any trust between the Crobat and her trainer.

Truth be told, this Crobat had loved her trainer from the very beginning, when she was caught as a mere Zubat, still really just a fledgling in the cave leading to Oreburgh City, known as Oreburgh Gate. When they had entered the Old Chateau, she had been delighted that she was able to fight against so many Gastly with her trainer's support. Since they were ghost type Pokemon, they succumbed easily to her powerful Bite. Eventually, her body was hidden in a bright light, her form changing. Her wings had become longer, as did her body. She now had eyes that allowed her to see, she no longer needed to use sonar alone. Her mouth became more wide and pronounced, her fangs growing as well. The newly evolved Golbat landed gracefully on the ground, her feet now able to support her body. She wrapped her wings around her body, giving the image that she was holding a cape around herself. She gave a piercing glare, and a loud Screech as she unfolded her wings, while her trainer gave a just as loud cheer.

Because of her evolution, she was able to take down her opponent, Rotom, who, coincidentally, was sitting by the fire as she hung from the tree. Her attack power became much stronger, and her Bite did well against Rotom. As a drawback, his Thundershock did equally as well as her Bite, for she was a flying type, he, a combination of ghost and thunder. Eventually, she managed to defeat him, and her trainer used a Dusk ball to capture him. He was now officially part of the team, consisting of the new Golbat, the trainer's starter Prinplup, a Ponyta, Machop, and a Kricketune she had received as a Kricketot from a friend.

Not long after that event, months later, Golbat was facing a very difficult opponent. The bat's trainer was up against the Gym Leader Fantina, a user of ghost types. The Golbat had been confident she could win easily, so long as she relied on her Bite, but she was very wrong. Regardless of the type match up, the Leader's Mismagius was much stronger than she had first thought. She tried a Wing Attack, but to no avail, as the ghost easily dodged and attacked with a Shadow Ball. The bat was sent crashing down onto the floor, unbearable pain coursing through her body. She kept her eyes tightly shut, letting out a groan. Just as she was about to let the soothing feeling of being unconscious take over her, she heard her trainer's frantic shouts of worry. Her eyes opened wide. How could she fail her partner like this? Not without a fight, she wouldn't!

The bat struggled to get up, her body shaking. Once she had done so, her wings immediately draped around her body like a cape as usual, though it was obvious Golbat was worn out. She put a final burst of energy into motion, and she Screeched loudly at the Mismagius, causing discomfort. Using her last ounce of energy, she flew forward, using another Bite onto the ghost. In return, she was rewarded with a shrill cry from her target, and she only clamped down harder. The Mismagius fell, and the battle was over. Being a strong willed type of Pokemon, the Golbat gave another shriek, this one of dominance. That's when another bright light took over her body, the shape changing once more. Her wings became slightly smaller, and surprisingly, her feet became the shape of another pair of wings, though smaller than the first pair. The bat's main body became smaller, and the ears became a point. Once the light had faded, the trainer stared in awe at the deep purple color, and the mouth that no longer held fangs. It merely showed teeth and a small frown. She was captivated by the evolved Crobat's eyes, now an eerie yellow color, as was the defeated Fantina.

Everything was fine after that. Crobat's love for her trainer was unwavering, and the whole team was getting along. But then, someone came and ruined that, in her opinion. A friend of the trainer, a boy around her age, and the one who gave the trainer her Kricketune in return for a Buizel, had come out of Hearthome City downcast. When asked of his predicament, he had stated that he could not beat Fantina like she had, no matter how hard he tried. To this, the trainer only smiled and offered to let him borrow Crobat to take her down in return for his Monferno to get some data on it for her Pokedex.

When Crobat was next released out of her pokeball, she was surprised to see her trainer's friend holding onto it. She looked to her partner, and as she explained everything, was shocked. How could her partner just let her go? Just like that? She kept a brave face, and though she was usually frowning because she had no choice, this time it was obvious that she meant it. She had quickly taken down Fantina's Pokemon once more, and was re-traded using the odd machine called the Link-Cable at the Pokemon Center.

For that reason, the trust is gone between the bat and her human. Her trainer did not seem to notice anything wrong, and was currently sleeping in her sleeping bag. She let her Pokemon out every night, seeing as some of them, like Crobat herself, were more nocturnal, even if they didn't seem it.

"Heeeey! Crobat, you listening or what?" Crobat looked at Rotom, who was giving his usual, mischievous grin. The blob of electricity covered in plasma was sitting by the fire, and was apparently trying to get the upside down bat's attention. Next to him was Machoke, who was currently juggling a few stones to keep himself entertained as he stared at Crobat as well. Empoleon was sitting right next to the trainer, watching over her protectively, though showed he was listening by looking at the others from time to time.

Kricketune was standing, his back against a tree, slowly rubbing his arms together to create a soothing melody. He had been doing it for their trainer when she couldn't sleep months ago, and has been doing it ever since. Rapidash, of course, had to be more cautious than the others; being a fire type, her mane a beautiful blaze, she could easily set the forest on fire. She was sleeping next to the trainer, as the trust between them was strong, so the mane only gave heat, not burns.

"Yeah... I'm listening," Crobat stated slowly as her eyes pierced into the Rotom, sending a chill down his spine.

"Okay... Anyways, as I was saying, we definitely have to be at the top of our game! Vivian's going against Candice soon, and she uses ice types! Kricketune, you'll need to focus on Bug Buzz and X Scissor!"

Kricketune gave a slow nod, momentarily stopping his melody. "I will do my best," he stated calmly. He started once again when Vivian began to shift in her sleep.

"And Rapi- ...Hey, you awake or what? Sheesh, some attention span you have..."

"I am awake," Rapidash muttered, opening one of her eyes, "I will focus on my Fire Blast and my Flame Wheel to take down our opponents, do not worry."

"Good. She's counting on us!" Rotom remarked with a flashy grin. Unknown to him, he had just caused his friend much anger, and she finally lashed out.

"Counting on us? Yeah right! The next moment the opportunity comes by, she'll just trade us all away! We mean nothing to her; we are merely tools in her eyes! Damned creatures for her to throw away once she loses interest! She doesn't care for us, she never did!" she released her hold on the tree, flapping all four wings at once as she glared at the trainer she was accusing, "How dare she ask that we give her our strength!"

This outburst caused everything to stare at the Crobat in surprise. Crobat was usually calm and silent, just like Empoleon. Rapidash and Kricketune were artistic, well coordinated, and strategic. Machoke and Rotom, the tricksters and energetic pair of the group, and that's how it always was.

Machoke immediately dropped the stones he was using, standing up and glaring at her. "How dare you- How can you say that about her?! She's our trainer, our friend!"

"She's no friend of ours!" In frustration, the four-winged bat let out a loud, deafening Screech, waking her trainer. That's when she finally let out all the pain, and ill feelings she was harboring for her trainer since she was traded back. Had she spoken sooner? No. She had decided that it was best she kept quiet, but she couldn't stand the unbearable silence anymore. She cried, and started slamming herself into the tree she had hung from moments ago. She wanted it to stop; she wanted all of it to stop. She cried out, "Damn! Damn! Damn! Filthy, disgusting, ungrateful bitch!" She didn't know who she was referring to. Vivian, or herself.

Quickly, Crobat felt arms around her. She had expected it to be Machoke, or maybe even Empoleon, but instead, it was Vivian, her trainer. She held her Pokemon close, trying to calm her down. Her black hair, which was let down from their usual pig-tails every night before she slept, cascaded onto Crobat as she continued to lash out in protest, but with not as much strength as before. Slowly, the defiance stopped, and the bat slumped, exhausted and breathing heavily.

Vivian slowly sat down onto the forest floor, where they had camped for the night, sighing in relief. Her deep, blue eyes stared into Crobat's yellow ones. "Easy Crobat, it's alright... It's okay now. Whatever happened to you, it's gone... You'll be okay, I've got you," she spoke gently, and the other Pokemon gathered around their trainer and comrade. It was then that Crobat finally gave out on all of her defenses. She gave a pathetic noise, and if the human could understand what she was saying, she would have known it was the bat's attempt at an apology.

* * *

A few hours had passed; how many, Crobat didn't know. Everyone was in their Pokeballs now, except for her. She was sleeping next to Vivian, who had let her stay by her side for the rest of the night. Crobat guessed it was at least around three in the morning. Slowly, she moved one of her wings, and was able to reach Vivian's belt, releasing the one she knew she could talk to.

Blue fur with white in the middle started showing. His wings were outlined with an icy blue, and was the middle of his stomach, going all the way up to his neck before splitting, making it look like some sort of high collar. His beak split into three horns atop his head, and Empoleon opened his eyes to see why he had been called out. Upon seeing Crobat, he only gave a knowing nod, sitting down by his trainer.

"...I couldn't bear it any longer..."

"I know."

"How would you? You weren't the one traded off as though you were a meaningless item." Her tone wasn't bitter. Rather, it was very soft, compared to the sturdy tone her voice usually held, and sounded very tired.

"Do you understand why she did it?"

"..." Crobat remained silent, gazing down to the ground. Her penguin friend looked up to the sky, quite visible even though the forest was dense with trees.

"Because she wanted to help a close friend, the very friend who gave her Kricketune when he was a mere child. Without him, after all, we wouldn't have our bug friend."

"...I just... I feel so betrayed, Empoleon..."

"I know." He shifted his gaze onto the bat, who stared right back at him. "Our trainer- Vivian. She cares deeply for you, just as she does for the rest of us.

There are no favorites, no least favorites. We are family. She didn't do a thing while you were gone. She merely waited at the Pokemon Center on those two days you were gone."

The flying type's eyes widened slightly in surprise at the water type's statement. "I thought she was going to Amity Square with the Pichu she had caught previously...?"

"She didn't. All because she didn't feel right about doing anything without you back by her side. She'd do the same if it were any of us instead of you. She loves you, Crobat. She didn't mean to betray you like that."

"..."

"I know it will take some time before you even consider trusting her like you did back then, those months ago. But you will one day."

"...Thank you, Empoleon..."

He gave a small smile, and gave another nod. "Time heals all wounds, my girl."

With those words in mind, Crobat drifted off to sleep. One day, she agreed, she would come to love and trust her partner without a doubt once more.

And she did.


End file.
